ThisDay publication has it that the Cameroonian army had apprehended these fighters and are insisting on trying them, but France is against this idea.
According to a Nigerian military source, the arrest of these Europeans have caused tensions between France and one of her Francophone allies in the sub-region following the shocking discovery that some French citizens are staunch members of the sect, a throwback to their membership of the terror group, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Reports also suggest that France is angry at her former colony for not giving up on the idea of trying them in Africa and wants the French men handed over to the French authorities.
The French Foreign Minister, Mr. Lauren Fabuci had ordered for the transfer of the suspects into French hands.
The furious Cameroonian government are also in respect to the order dumbfounded by the manner in which France had demanded the release of its nationals.
A Cameroonian minister was quoted to have said: “Mr. Lauren Fabuci, the French Foreign Minister, has ordered Cameroon to release immediately eight Europeans captured by our security men, for being part of Boko Haram terrorists.
“Mr. Fabuci demanded their immediate handover to France so that they can prosecute the terrorists on French soil, ignoring our sovereignty and independence.
“The French are acting as if Cameroon is their errand boy that they can order around and ignore the fact that we have our own laws with which we can try the terrorists.”
The current exposition has lent credence to strong suspicions in the Nigerian intelligence community that Boko Haram has strong foreign backing.
Nigeria has not revealed her position and it seems the West African giant is just going to back away from this one, but, Major-General Chris Olukolade, who is the Director of Defence Information, concluded that the matter was for France and her former colony to resolve and not ours.
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